British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, has announced a $25 million risk-sharing facility with Ecobank Sierra Leone. This facility aims to support private sector growth in key sectors of Sierra Leone’s economy, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which employ around 70% of the population. The initiative addresses the lack of access to capital that hampers economic growth in the country.
The risk-sharing facility will allow Ecobank Sierra Leone to extend lending to ambitious businesses by increasing credit limits and offering longer loan terms—up to five years—, which are typically not available in the market. It will also support local currency lending, a move that BII hopes will stimulate job creation and economic development by helping SMEs overcome high collateral requirements and short-term loan structures.
This deal marks the first investment under the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), a joint initiative between BII and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. ARIA is designed to boost investment in frontier markets like Sierra Leone, with a focus on high-impact sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing.
The facility builds on BII’s previous $50 million trade finance collaboration with Ecobank in 2021, which strengthened the bank’s presence in Africa and helped support supply chains in markets like Burkina Faso, Chad, and Togo. BII’s investment strategy aims to address the structural challenges faced by Sierra Leone’s economy, including currency depreciation, high inflation, and a reliance on imports.
UK Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds praised the partnership, noting that it would bring much-needed capital to sectors with high development potential, thereby driving job creation and economic growth. BII’s Samir Abhyankar emphasized the importance of this facility in providing the necessary capital for Sierra Leonean businesses to thrive, while Ecobank Sierra Leone’s MD, Sebastian Ashong-Katai, highlighted the positive impact this will have on businesses, reinforcing Ecobank’s commitment to driving economic development in the country.
The facility demonstrates BII’s commitment to driving development in frontier markets by fostering partnerships that enable businesses to grow and thrive in challenging economic environments.
